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Why do experienced growers still use plastic pots?

growsjoe1

growsjoe1

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CharlesU Farley said:
:LOL: I just use a big aluminum wash tub outside to dunk them all in, no soap or bleach, swish it all around with a shovel, and then dump 'em out in the sun and let the sun dry 'em out.
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I have to sneak my bags past the attendant of the coin laundry. I feel them :unsure:

That washtub sounds like an alternative. @CharlesU Farley Have you had any nasties show in the next grow?

Just as a precaution, I like to start with a clean slate.
 
CocoNut 420

CocoNut 420

Well-known member
LndRcLvr said:
Great thread👍 hope you don't mind me throwing a question in..

Could one create a DIY airpot by drilling holes all over a plastic container? or do you need the spiky fluting to get the air pruning effect?
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I doubt it tbh, drilling holes might help but airpots are shaped to guide the roots out.

A couple of years ago I bought 10x 3ltr air pots, at 1st glance they look the same only they're a thinner lighter quality.

After growing with them I could see just the shape of the hole made a difference, the cheap copy airpot have a smaller hole that's slightly flattened compared to original airpots.

When I put plants in them I could see the smaller diameter and flattened exit was enough to re route the roots back into to the pot and not actually getting air pruned.

I noticed this by chance, had I been told they're very different I'd have been reluctant to believe it.

The copies can be opened out with a sharp drill to remove the flat end or a pencil type shape to poke through the holes to give them a rounded flared out profile.

I've lost the phones with the pics in them but the budget airpots work different.
 
Drop That Sound

Drop That Sound

Well-known member
Why do experienced growers still use fancy overpriced fabric "grow" pots? :love:

1710364798335.png
 
mme_oscar

mme_oscar

Active member
@Drop That Sound That should work, it's a good idea! But I doubt it will last as long. There's a lot of different density for geofabric. I think I've been using mine for 4 years. It's not smartpot and were way cheaper.

I used tube as well but when you've got few pots it's annoying... And I can't wash organic filth as well as with washing machine. I've been hit by HlVd, bleach won't work on dirty surfaces. Those big 16 kg washing machine are convenients.

Honestly if I didn't bump into that fucking viroid and kept using salt I wouldn't bother cleaning my pots for bloom area. I used to remove my rockwool cubes and a tad of the top of each pot. Do a quick top up et voilà, ready for the next run. Not anymore :/
 
xtsho

xtsho

Well-known member
There's an old American phrase, "There's more than one way to skin a cat." That same logic can be applied to growing cannabis. There's more than one type of pot to grow a plant in.
 
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CharlesU Farley

CharlesU Farley

Well-known member
Here's the entry from my Journal on this subject, many years ago. Y'all should know me enough by now, I'm not pimping/whoring the website, as I don't sell a fucking thing. I just don't feel like doing a full cut and paste right now, read the entry, "Moving On Up, To The SouthEast Side" :

SouthEast Lights Journal

Northern Lights cannabis developed in the SouthEast U.S. Environment
southeastlights.org southeastlights.org
 
CharlesU Farley

CharlesU Farley

Well-known member
growsjoe1 said:
I have to sneak my bags past the attendant of the coin laundry. I feel them :unsure:

That washtub sounds like an alternative. @CharlesU Farley Have you had any nasties show in the next grow?

Just as a precaution, I like to start with a clean slate.
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No problemos, if I see a little white fuzz during veg or flowering, I just spray it with a potassium bicarb solution and it takes care of business. Works on botrytis too!!!!
 
Ca++

Ca++

Well-known member
I wonder what the bags are made from. I buy food safe buckets, but a lot of what people use, is really quite questionable. I doubt I could get a solid answer, but can point to enough studies of Chinese plastics, to know they don't often meet our legal expectations. Perhaps keeping the clean stuff, and exporting their chaff.

Food safe plastics leach enough nutrients to be an issue for the guys who just top up. I forget which metals, but they climb over time. In the wrong plastics, you can expect lead. Lots of cheap hose is made with lead. It aids the plastic staying together. More suitable plastic uses other metals. In recycled plastic, you get what you get. The softer the plastic, the more leaching is likely.

Skipping ahead. The soil grower in bags, with no real runoff, is causing explosive growth at the plastic, in response to the roots needing to find something. The roots someone just shared from an airpot show this root explosion. It contrasts the smaller root count between the holes. They said themselves, this rooting may serve no real purpose. It's a good effort to find something, where there is nothing. Except, say, some toxic plastic bag, that see's little runoff.

There is a lot to consider, that isn't immediately obvious. Hence I can't find the 16-20L buckets I want.
 
CharlesU Farley

CharlesU Farley

Well-known member
RobFromTX said:
And constantly having to rewater the soil. I certainly dont miss that either
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As long as I know my plants are consuming all the water / fertilizer I'm giving them and that's not running out the bottom of the pot, I'm okay with a little bit more frequent watering.
 
Ca++

Ca++

Well-known member
The pouches are cheap enough for single use, but the coffee cup still owes some service :)

I have only once tried such a thing (not the coffee, I can't afford that) and the biodegradable pots went so green, I felt I had to peel and scrape them off.

I guess buying at the pound shop doesn't help my case.
 
CharlesU Farley

CharlesU Farley

Well-known member
growsjoe1 said:
I have to sneak my bags past the attendant of the coin laundry. I feel them :unsure:

That washtub sounds like an alternative. @CharlesU Farley Have you had any nasties show in the next grow?

Just as a precaution, I like to start with a clean slate.
Click to expand...
Nah, frequently mid-grow they'll start sprouting some white mycelium but a spray of potassium bicarb takes care of that. Late summer here in the SouthEast U.S., when the basement tent temperature is around 80-85 and the humidity is around 90, it gets real challenging with PM. So I've usually got some potassium bicarb mixed up anyway.
 
CharlesU Farley

CharlesU Farley

Well-known member
CocoNut 420 said:
For a convenient alternative for seeds and clones I use these little pouches, to feed them in multiples I just pour nutrient into the tray.
View attachment 18973024
It might sound a bit questionable, no wait it is a bit questionable 🤣 but it works.

The pouches are only £2/3 per 100.
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I've tried something similar to those pouches myself. Great idea but the material was so thin it was difficult for me to load up the soil inside the smaller container. I found some similar sized containers that were thicker, fabric-based, with Velcro.

Got some clones I've got a transplant today and I'm forced to use those smaller containers (can't remember what size they are right now) because I've run out of room in the clone / seedling closet.
 
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